Can N. Srinivasan Attend Our Meetings? BCCI Asks Supreme Court; AGM Likely to Postponed Again
N. Srinivasan forced the BCCI to abandon its working committee meeting in Kolkata last week after turning up as a representative of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sought Supreme Court's opinion on whether N. Srinivasan can attend its meetings. The former BCCI president had turned up at the Board's working committee meeting in Kolkata on August 28 forcing officials to abandon the important conclave due to lack of legal clarity.
The BCCI's application, filed on Thursday, is likely to listed next week. The immediate effect of the BCCI-Srinivasan conundrum will be on the Board's Annual General Meeting, which according to its constitution must be completed by September 30. With three weeks' notice mandatory to convene an AGM, this now looks difficult. Informally, September 27 was scheduled for the AGM.(IPL GC Proposes Two New Teams to Replace CSK, RR)
If the AGM is postponed, once again due to legal issues, it will be the second time in as many years that this will occur. Last year, the management under Srinivasan kept postponing the AGM hoping that the Tamil Nadu strongman, desperate for another term as president, would get the Supreme Court's nod to contest.
Last year's AGM was finally held on March 2, 2015 after the Supreme Court barred Srinivasan from contesting due to his "conflict of interest" issues. Srinivasan was hauled up by the top court for holding the position of BCCI president as well as owning IPL team Chennai Super Kings.(Chennai, Rajasthan Suspended for 2 Years)
Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, a Chennai team official, was indicted for betting during IPL 2013. The Supreme Court instituted a panel under former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha to suggest changes in the BCCI's governance with special emphasis on conflict of interest clause.
For lack of legal clarity on Srinivasan, the August 28 working committee meeting ended "sine die". Srinivasan was adamant that he would attend "at his own risk" but the BCCI management wanted to play safe. Among other things, the working committee was to decide the future of Chennai and Rajasthan Royals and provide a roadmap for IPL. Both Chennai and Rajasthan have been suspended by the Lodha committee for two years each.
Srinivasan, currently the chairman of ICC, has once again forced the BCCI on the backfoot. Chennai have already petitioned the Madras High Court for a stay on their suspension from IPL and now the ball is in the BCCI's court. Long legal battles cannot be ruled out as Srinivasan seems to be battling for survival.